U.S.: Bin Laden was still in charge

Osama bin Laden maintained operational control of Al Qaeda from his compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan, a senior U.S. intelligence official said Saturday, citing material found in the compound.

“This compound in Abbottabad was an active command-and-control center for Al Qaeda’s leader,” the official said at a Pentagon briefing. “He was active in operational planning and in driving tactical decisions within Al Qaeda.”

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Until recently, many analysts believed bin Laden’s operational control over Al Qaeda eroded in recent years due to his being in hiding and the increased decentralization of those planning terror plots. Some said bin Laden had become little more than an inspirational figure, as well as an occasional propagandist for the anti-American terror movement.

But the official said that was not the case, and the intelligence proves it: “It was entirely unsurprising to us, and it was always our working assumption.”

The official said intelligence analysts are still looking at the massive amount of information seized from the compound but would not discuss whether any of this has led to information about the whereabouts of other Al Qaeda leaders, including Ayman al-Zawahiri, the group’s No. 2 and bin Laden’s presumed successor.

“There’s actually so much material that we’re still trying to quantify it,” the official said, noting that much of what already has been found remains classified. He said the first priority would be to get intelligence on any planned attacks, particularly those involving nuclear, biological or chemical weapons.

Bin Laden was killed Sunday along with his son, a woman and two other men in a 40-minute raid by U.S. Navy SEALs on the compound, which had been the focus of intense intelligence surveillance since August 2010. POLITICO reported Monday that the raid, beyond leading to bin Laden’s death, yielded what was considered “the mother lode of intelligence.”

The special operations forces seized computers and other electronic equipment, including cell phones. One official said at the time: “Can you imagine what’s on Osama bin Laden’s hard drive?”

In an effort to quiet suspicions that the U.S. had not killed bin Laden, the official showed reporters a video seized from the compound showing the gray-bearded Al Qaeda leader, wearing a black knit cap and draped in a blanket, watching himself on television, as well as three other clips showing him rehearsing his video messages. President Barack Obama — in a decision that has been widely criticized — refused Wednesday torelease photos of bin Laden’s corpse, saying, “We don’t need to spike the football.”

The official said these videos were sufficient proof that the U.S. had taken down the mastermind of the attacks on Sept. 11, because they appeared not to have been intended for public release.

“It is improbable that this kind of footage would be anywhere but with bin Laden. He jealously guarded his image,” the official said.

The discovery that bin Laden had been hiding for years in a garrison town right under the nose of Pakistan’s military and 35 miles from the capital of Islamabad has damaged U.S.-Pakistani relations and deepened suspicions that elements in Pakistan’s military and government are aiding Islamist extremists. But the senior official said no evidence has emerged that would indicate the Pakistani government knew bin Laden was there. “We’re asking some questions, and the Pakistani government is asking some questions of itself,” he said.